See The Spot: Colorado Tells Smokers the Do's and Don'ts of Pot

State Starts Educational Pot Campaign

Keep your weed away from children, don't take pot out of Colorado and don't drive while high: Those are some of the topics covered in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's first educational campaign since the state made the selling of recreational pot legal in 2014.

The campaign, called "Good to know," was created by Denver-based indie shop Cactus and will begin Feb. 23. The 18-month, $4 million effort will include an animated TV spot, out-of-home ads, the website GoodToKnowColorado.com, social media outreach on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, radio, print and digital.

"Good to Know" focuses on retail marijuana laws, which limit purchases to buyers 21 years old and up, ban use in public places and prohibit tourists taking weed home with them. There's also messaging about protecting children from accidental marijuana consumption.

Colorado's Department of Transportation started TV ads last year about pot use, but the focus was on driving while high and poked fun at pot users. The current campaign has a gentler tone.

"Our job was not to encourage marijuana use, or to judge it, but rather to create an educational campaign that's interesting, relevant and likeable in order to ensure the messages would be welcomed by, and helpful to, individuals on all sides of the issue," said Brian Watson, VP-creative director at Cactus, in a statement.

Cactus will also tailor marketing aimed at youth, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and Colorado's Latino population over the next few months.

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Maureen Morrison

Maureen covers agencies as well as all things mobile, including the carriers, handsets and advertising, for Ad Age out of San Francisco. She previously wrote about the marketing of the fast food industry for Ad Age while also covering the agency world. Before entering reporting, she was Ad Age’s research editor, helping lead research and analysis for the publication’s reports including the Agency Report, Leading National Advertisers and 100 Leading Media Companies.